Max horses on a daily driver

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Member
Sep 11, 2005
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Yay Area, California
#1
Well I am finally at the point where I am going to start purchasing my performance parts from jegs and ebay. But it seems the first thing out of vendors mouths is "how many horses you expecting to the rear wheels". Then I am like "I dunno, Ijust wanna be able to kick arse". Well that response does not seem to work for some vendors. So I am asking you guys for a lil advice. What kind of HP should I look to make from a 84 stang, that will see some highway use (I tend to cruise on the highway) and lots of go get groceries and to the gym action. Plus the occasional ricer and camaro arse-whoopins I want to be able to hand out. I have decided on BBK long tubes and BBK pipes, other than that I am still searchin for my perfect mix for the top of the engine. But I need to know how much hp do I want to put out? ANd what is a good reasonable number for a daily driver. DOnt want to say "500 horses" and look like a arse. And dont want to say "300hp" And get beat by my grandma's studabaker.

Advice?
 

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#2
Whats wrong with 300hp? A 300rwhp stang will get you a mid 12 second time slip, which is very respectable IMO.

We can't answer how much horsepower YOU want to put out. That's all up to you. I can tell you one thing, it's never enough. I'm pushing over 500hp to the wheels with my stang but I'm still searching for more power. You'll never be satisfied with your HP level, it's the truth. It also depends on your budget and how long you want things to last. There is no magical number for a daily driven car. I've seen guys running high 9's in a fully caged car with dr's and they drive their car 3-4 times a week on the street. It's all up to you.

To start, I would pick up a set of heads, a cam, intake manifold and higher flowing carb. I'm not too schooled on carb setups so you'll have to wait for some of the carb gurus to chime in. They'll help you to make some big numbers.
 
#3
Thanks Race...Since I am kinda new I basically came in waving my wallet and saying make me fast which didnt work. It seems they were asking for a magic target number. This is more of an advice topic than a definitive one. I guess they want to know my expectations. And I was not sure what to expect as far as numbers. I basically want to be snapped to the seat when I jump on it and be first across the next stop light (lots can happen on the way to get groceries...lol).

Sorry if this topic seems vague.
 
#4
I guess it depends. If you plan to stay carbed then 300hp is a good round number. My mustang makes well over 400 at the wheels with the smog stuff on it but it's blown and injected. You could actually have a near 500hp driver but it would cost a pretty penny and have to built just right (supercharged only). I think that if I chose to drive my car daily it would do just fine.

An 84 is a totally different animal compared to an 86-93. There are a lot of differences. The roller cam in the later model cars makes a big difference. You may want to consider converting to a hyd roller set up and updating to a new GT40 style head. I really don't know how much you are looking to spend.
 
#6
A good set of heads (AFR/TFS), a nice Victor Jr. intake, a quick fuel 650 carb, and possibly a custom cam from one of the guys on here could net you 350 rwhp.. Then use the rest of your dough on suspension/drivetrain/cosmetics/driving school/whatever..

Brandon
 
#7
driving school....lol. Ourobos, it seems your combo stated is recommended by many, I may look into that, thanks all. Oh yea I have my 8:8 rear end with 3.73's in my garage just waiting to be put on. On that estimated 370 how much performance would that gear set I have add?
 
#8
i also think 300 hp is a good goal for a street car.

400 maybe if you make 300 na then add a 100 shot of nitrous for track and street races.

but you can get 300 for doing nothing...get gears , 100 shot and some lca's.

you'll be running 12.50-12.70 and still be reliable as heck
 
#13
the problem is, is what your about to find out lol
If you get heads, you need gaskets bolts, roller rockers (depending on heads) pushrods, a camshaft, you should prob replace lifters while your doing the camshaft (just a good idea cuz they come out anyway) intake, throttle body (unless carbed), intake gaskets, and this is only for a 300 horsepower car,

My heads cost me 1090, than when i was done PURCHASING everything to get them on i had spend well over 1500 just on heads, than 350 for an intake, 100 for gasket set, 200 for a cam, 170 for throttlebody, it jsut starts costing alot of money, and this is if your doing all the work urself! You can also do this on a budget, but chances are your not gonna get "well over 300 HP" on a budget, you gotta spend the big bucks to get the big power... I think all together, i spent 3200 or something, and i won't even break 300 HP to the wheels -

Oh yea, and 300 to the wheels is, BADASS - so don't underestimate 300 horses, because you prob won't lose to your neighborhood cars w/ that kind of power (maybe an LS1 lol) good luck man, i was just lettin you know that I found out the hard way, n your gonna find out as well
 
#14
Paul Perreca said:
the problem is, is what your about to find out lol
If you get heads, you need gaskets bolts, roller rockers (depending on heads) pushrods, a camshaft, you should prob replace lifters while your doing the camshaft (just a good idea cuz they come out anyway) intake, throttle body (unless carbed), intake gaskets, and this is only for a 300 horsepower car,

My heads cost me 1090, than when i was done PURCHASING everything to get them on i had spend well over 1500 just on heads, than 350 for an intake, 100 for gasket set, 200 for a cam, 170 for throttlebody, it jsut starts costing alot of money, and this is if your doing all the work urself! You can also do this on a budget, but chances are your not gonna get "well over 300 HP" on a budget, you gotta spend the big bucks to get the big power... I think all together, i spent 3200 or something, and i won't even break 300 HP to the wheels -

Oh yea, and 300 to the wheels is, BADASS - so don't underestimate 300 horses, because you prob won't lose to your neighborhood cars w/ that kind of power (maybe an LS1 lol) good luck man, i was just lettin you know that I found out the hard way, n your gonna find out as well
Click to expand...

Your right on, first make an estimate how much your gonna spend, than times it by two and thats about how much you'll usually spend.
 
#15
webshot said:
nitrous scares me. Every since I saw fast and the furious.
Click to expand...

PLEASE never ever make a reference to that movie again. And please don't think that any aspect of that movie was even remotely accurate. Your floor boards will NOT fall out of your car from spraying too much NOOOOSSSSS. :rlaugh:
 
#16
RacEoHolic330 said:
PLEASE never ever make a reference to that movie again. And please don't think that any aspect of that movie was even remotely accurate. Your floor boards will NOT fall out of your car from spraying too much NOOOOSSSSS. :rlaugh:
Click to expand...


Now I can't you said that....I thought the movie was real!!!

:rlaugh: :rlaugh:
 
#17
no more references to Fast and furious....lol....promise

Paul
Thanks for that perspective I really did not think about it that way. much appreciated. I am doing most of the work with a good friend of mine who builds race cars. My car is carbuerated and I am going to try buy used when possible. Sounds like 300hp is the promise land, once you get there sky is the limit. I planned 2.5k so 3k doesnt sound to bad. Key is to spend it wisely.
 
#18
yea i'm not tryna piss ya off, its just NOT cheap lol nos is a good, cheap, fast way of getting your horsepower, but it's not constant, i'm not sure how it works, some ppl have it set that it only works under full throttle, and some are pushbutton... so the stuff does run out and need to be refilled, i don't know i really didn't think of any non N/A setups for you, h/c/i is one thing, throw on a super charger w/ low boost and thats another, i think the Novi 1000 is about 18 -1900 dollars, and that's a low boost level, but than your starting out 2000 dollars into your engine, and i think (personally) if your doing heads, or a cam, while your engine is apart for one or the other, you might as well do the entire H/C/I combo, that way you don't have to do the labor/buy gaskets twice... 300 hp is a kickass power to have!!!!! Do you think you can get 300 HP out of a stock engine w/ a novi 1000??? I say 1000, cuz i worry about stock engines not being able to handle "alot" of boost..??
 
#19
Well right now I am looking at a explorer engine in my garage and a engine out of a 87. So my engine wont be stock for long. This is something I am going to do over a matter of months with a engine being built on the side. less down time that way. Right now I am doing the mods like exhaust gears stuff like that.

thanks man
 
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